A decade of work, recognised
Md Arifur Rahman has received Bangladesh’s Youth Volunteer Award 2026 for a decade of work supporting the boat-dwelling Manta community, assisting disaster-affected families and promoting environmental education and climate justice. He was honoured in the Environment, Climate Change and Disaster Management category at a ceremony at Shapla Hall of the Prime Minister’s Office in Dhaka on 17 October, organised by the Ministry of Youth and Sports.
Arifur, from Jhalakathi in southern Bangladesh, is general secretary of YouthNet Global, a youth-led organisation working on climate justice, environmental sustainability and social inclusion. He began working with the Manta community in 2016 after encountering their struggles in Barishal, and his work has since grown from children’s education, healthcare and emergency assistance into citizenship rights, financial inclusion and social dignity.
A total of 15 young people were selected for awards across eight categories recognising contributions to social development and voluntary service. Each recipient received a cheque for 100,000 taka, a commemorative crest and a certificate of recognition, according to The Climate Watch.
Life on the rivers
For the Manta community, rivers are home. Many families have lived on boats for generations, earning their livelihoods through fishing. Without permanent addresses, they face barriers to birth registration, national identity cards, education, healthcare and government social protection programmes, according to The Business Standard.
Arifur’s initial work focused on the everyday consequences of that exclusion. Over time, through YouthNet Global’s MantaConnect initiative, the programme has connected 300 members of the community to formal financial services, helping people previously excluded from the financial system to access institutional support. Working with the local administration, Arifur also helped arrange land for a burial ground for the community, addressing a longstanding concern for families who had struggled to access even basic community facilities.
Disasters, education and climate justice
Beyond his work with the Manta community, Arifur has played an active role in humanitarian assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic and successive climate-related disasters, supporting vulnerable riverine and coastal communities through disaster response, sustainable livelihood development, environmental education, wetland restoration, lead pollution prevention and climate justice advocacy.
He has also helped mobilise students and young volunteers through environmental awareness and leadership initiatives. About 25,000 students from the Barishal region have taken part in activities under Eco Olympiad Bangladesh, an initiative promoting environmental knowledge and youth engagement in sustainability, and 10 Youth Climate Clubs have been established in educational institutions across Jhalakathi, according to The Climate Watch.
These programmes encourage students to understand local environmental challenges, explore practical solutions and take part in climate action and biodiversity conservation, connecting environmental education with community participation.
Why this recognition matters
Arifur’s story matters because it shows where climate action actually happens: not only in conference halls, but in the daily work of making sure that people who live with climate risk are recognised, counted and heard. Boat-dwelling families face the same floods, storms and river erosion as their neighbours on land, yet their lack of a permanent address can shut them out of the very services meant to help them adapt.
His work links that local reality to a wider question facing countries exposed to climate change: how to make sure that geographically isolated and historically marginalised populations are not left behind in development programmes or climate resilience planning. The award recognises volunteer work that treats community members not merely as beneficiaries of assistance, but as active participants in shaping solutions.
Alongside the awards, the government announced financial grants for 432 registered youth organisations across Bangladesh, with the Ministry of Youth and Sports announcing a total allocation of 35.7 million taka for project-based grants intended to promote self-employment, poverty reduction, community development and youth-led social initiatives.
What comes next
Arifur, who has completed a Bachelor of Business Administration degree and is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Laws, intends to continue advocating for marginalised communities while expanding work on environmental conservation, sustainable livelihoods and social inclusion, including green employment opportunities for young people. For Bangladesh’s emerging generation of environmental advocates, his recognition offers an example of how sustained local action can contribute to a more inclusive and climate-resilient future.
Key facts
- Md Arifur Rahman received the Youth Volunteer Award 2026 on 17 October in Dhaka.
- He was honoured in the Environment, Climate Change and Disaster Management category.
- He has worked with the boat-dwelling Manta community since 2016, through YouthNet Global.
- The MantaConnect initiative has connected 300 community members to formal financial services.
- About 25,000 students in Barishal have taken part in Eco Olympiad Bangladesh activities.
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